| FIX PROBLEM | ENGLISH SOUND | - | COMMON ERROR | - | PRACTICE MATERIALS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Relax the mouth and keep sound short. | /ɪ/ | "sit" | /i:/ | "seat" | Minimal Pairs /ɪ/ or / i: / practice |
| Move front of tongue a little higher. | /e/ | "set" | /æ/ | "sat" | Minimal Pairs /e/ or /æ/ practice |
| Move tongue to a lower front position. | /æ/ | "man" | /e/ | "men" | Minimal Pairs /e/ or /æ/ practice |
| Tongue low central. Lips relaxed. | /ʌ/ | "cup" | Minimal Pairs /æ/ or /ʌ/ practice |
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| Drop tongue to make mouth a little deeper. | /ʌ/ | "London" (1st syllable) | /ə/ | "London" (2nd syllable) | |
| Keep mouth round and tongue back. | /ɒ/ | "not" | Minimal Pairs /ɒ/ or /ɔ:/ practice Minimal Pairs /ɑ:/ or /ɒ/ practice |
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| Back of tongue high. Lips rounded but relaxed. Short. | /ʊ/ | "full" | /u:/ | "fool" | Minimal Pairs /ʊ/ or / u: / practice |
Fix tongue in central position. Long. | /ɜ:/ | "bird" | Minimal Pairs /e/ or /ɜ:/ practice Minimal Pairs /ʌ/ or /ɜ:/ practice Minimal Pairs /ɔ:/ or /ɜ:/ practice |
| Start with tongue not so low. | /eɪ/ | "late" | /aɪ/ | "light" | |
| Tongue low front to high front to centre. | /aɪə/=/aɪ/+/ə/ | "fire" | |||
| Don't make last part too strong. | /ɔɪ/ | "boy" | |||
| Tongue central. Then tightly round lips. | /əʊ/ | "note" | /ɒ/ | "not" | |
| Tongue low front. Then round & unround lips. | /aʊə/=/aʊ/+/ə/ | "flour" | Minimal Pairs /aʊ/ or /aʊə/ practice |
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| Start with lips tightly rounded. Unround. | /ʊə/ | "tour" | |||
| Tip of tongue behind top teeth. | /d/ | "made" | /t/ | "mate" | Minimal Pairs /t/ or /d/ practice |
| Voiced. Friction with top teeth & bottom lip. | /v/ | "van" | /f/ | "fan" | |
| Voiceless. Friction. Tongue between teeth. | /θ/ | "thin" | Minimal Pairs /θ/ or /ð/ practice Minimal Pairs /θ/ or /t/ practice Minimal Pairs /θ/ or /d/ practice Minimal Pairs /θ/ or /s/ practice |
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| Voiced. Friction. Tongue between teeth. | /ð/ | "they" | /d/ | "day" | Minimal Pairs /ð/ or /d/ practice |
| Voiced. Friction. Tongue between teeth. | /ð/ | "clothe" | /z/ | "close" /z/ | |
| Voiced: tip of tongue behind top teeth. Friction. | /z/ | "rise" | /s/ | "rice" | Minimal Pairs /s/ or /z/ practice |
| Voiceless. Friction. Front of tongue to palate. | /ʃ/ | "push" | |||
| Voiced: Front of tongue to palate. Friction. | /ʒ/ | "confusion" | /ʃ/ | "Confucian" | |
| Back of tongue to back roof. Nasal. | /ŋk/ | "think" | /ŋ/ | "thing" | Minimal Pairs /ŋ/ or /ŋk/ practice |
| British "r" is weaker & usually silent unless followed by a vowel. |
silent | "survivor" | /r/ | "Sir Ivor" | |
| Start with lips tightly rounded. Unround & glide. | /w/ | "west" | /v/ | "vest" | Minimal Pairs /w/ or /v/ practice |
| Unvoiced: Tip to alveolar. Front to palate. | /ʧ/ | "cherry" | |||
| Voiced: Tip to alveolar. Front to palate. | /ʤ/ | "wage" |
EXTERNAL LINK: Non-native pronunciations of English: Dutch L1
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